RealGround
by AlwaysBrightside
Summary: His parents thought he was crazy, to his classmates he was weird... But what's the deal with the world nobody else seems to see or hear? This is my take on Joshua's pre-game story. Spoilers abound
1. Authors Note

**Authors Note**

What? A full chapter for the authors note? I'm sorry, really I am. I'd just like to get a few things out before I start, so feel free to skip this if you aren't worried about spoilers or whatnot.

This is my take on Joshua from before the game begins.

SPOILERS:  
Week 2 spoilers  
Endgame spoilers  
Secret ending spoilers  
Secret report spoilers

RATED T:  
Violence  
Possibly language  
Mostly just to be safe

Also, Joshua might seem a bit out of character as he's not his usual, snobby, know-it-all self. I figure he wasn't ALWAYS that way, so as this story goes along, he'll get closer and closer to the Joshua we all know and love (or hate.)

I'm very new to FF.N, so if the formatting is somehow screwed up or something, please let me know. Particularly if you see i _around a word _/i. It just means it was supposed to be italicised and I forgot to change it. I haven't poked around enough to find any beta readers, so let me know if there are any grammatical errors.

Another thing I'd like to mention - I'm a fairly amateur writer, so while I can spell fine, I might switch tenses at weird times. Let me know if this becomes a problem, or if I start referring to Joshua in third person. Sometimes when I write, I default back to the wrong POV. I also positively suck at transitions, but I'm working on that...

Now I'll stop with this idiotically long introductory Authors Note and let you guys get on with your lives.

**Edit 9/25/10:** I'm not totally sure how to reply to reviews either... A nice person named A.Q pointed out a typo and a discontinuity screwup. (I think the second is due to not knowing how to edit the documents properly, and also my inability to do proper transitions) I think I fixed the typo at least. ^^;


	2. Schizophrenia

"I'm really sorry, sir." The lady began. She looked tired, though not especially exasperated, even when Father interrupted her. She was very calm, not like my father at all.

"Look, Hino-san. You're telling us that this isn't something we can fix? Joshua is a child prodigy - brilliant in his studies. How can he be…" Father had trouble getting the word out, and his voice dropped so I couldn't hear. I still know what he said though. 'Crazy'

I knew I wasn't crazy though. Those people and weird looking animals I saw were_ real_. The wings that nobody else could see _did_ exist, whatever my parents and the lady said. I'd tried to tell her about them, like my parents said, but now she said I was…

"Schizophrenic." Her voice was soft as she corrected Father, and the word was strange, but I'd heard it thrown around before. "Schizophrenia is a mental illness where the victim has hallucinations and delusions. Sometimes there are other symptoms, like disorganized behavior and motor control problems. I did not see any of these in your son, but that does not rule this out." The lady continued. "Unless Joshua is making things up or abusing drugs. I doubt this is the case, however. He truly seems to believe what he sees, and there is no indication of substance abuse."

"What can we do about this? Can't we cure him?" Mother asked softly, looking concerned. "If these visions get in the way of his studies-"

"There are antipsychotic medications we can prescribe for him. These won't cure him, unfortunately, but it will make the symptoms go away. This is the best you can do for him, along with giving him the care and support he needs."

I tuned them out at this point. They went over other tests they could try on me, as well as some paperwork. None of them seemed to think I could understand what they were saying. I'm ten now, and I'm not just some stupid baby anymore. I fiddled with the cuff of my too-tight dress shirt and remembered just how I'd clued them in.

I had always been able to see the animals, but Mother and Father simply chalked it up as an imaginary friend, or the imagination of their incredibly bright son. I went along with this, of course. I hadn't known any better… Until recently anyway.

Not five days ago, however, we were out shopping for new clothes and the Dragon store. Someone sprinted out of the shop, almost knocking over Mother. I recognized the girl as one of the ones who fought the animals; she wore the familiar, black skull pin on her hoodie. She met up with someone waiting outside, but as Father spun around to yell at her she and her friend fled into the crowd.

_"See!" I cried. "You did see her, she was real! I TOLD you!"_

_"Shush, Joshua. Keep your voice down." My mom tried to settle me down. I didn't know why - this was the first time Father had noticed them too!_

_"Kids these days have no respect for their elders." Father muttered. I could see one of his moods coming on._

_"She was in a hurry!" I explained, hoping to placate Father. "She has to get things done fast or else the animals turn her into static!"_

_Father turned to me then, his eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about? That silly fantasy of yours? I thought we've been over this! Those things aren't real, and that girl, she just managed to get lost in the crowd."_

_"No! I saw her yesterday when Mother was taking me to school! She and the other girl with her fought the anim-"_

_"WHAT other girl?"_

_"The one waiting for her outside the door!"_

A very long, heated conversation and a few trips to the psychologist's later and here I now sat, waiting for Mother and Father to take me back home while the lady babbled on about medications she could prescribe and their side effects, or the ways in which my parents could tend to these 'delusions' of mine.

Mother and Father ended up puting me on medicine that they said would make the animals go away. I soon realized that it didn't work, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Going along with it was easier, and Father yelled at me less. Maybe he was trying to take the doctor-lady's advice and be 'supportive'.

* * *

School started up again in a week. The month long summer break afforded me time enough to 'adjust' to the medications. Mother and Father worried about me going back, in case I spoke to friends or teachers about it. They didn't say it directly, but they were embarrassed. They debated on even sending me, but school was compulsory until high school and as far as they knew, the meds worked.

I wouldn't tell my friends anyway... Or I wouldn't if I had any. I once tried telling my classmates about the frenzied world nobody else seemed to be able to see, but they seemed to think I just read too many books.

* * *

The medicine makes me sick all the time now. I feel dizzy when I wake up in the morning, and I never feel like I wake up completely. Also this cold hasn't gone away since I started taking the pills. It's been two months and I thought it was meant to make me _better_, not worse. I'm going to stop taking it. I can just throw the pills in the trash when nobody is looking.

* * *

I saw a girl disappear today. It happened on my way home from school. A purple kangaroo creature landed on her with its feet that seemed more like claws than anything else, and she barely held herself together long enough for the battle to end.

Her partner seemed stunned at first, as he watched her shatter into nothingness just as the animals had. It seemed as though a part of him had died along with her. I almost went up to him - could they see me like I could see them? They didn't pay attention to anyone else - they always seemed too intent on their 'missions' and let's face it - an eleven year old isn't worth anyone's time when they're on the clock racing for their lives.

He noticed me staring, and gave me an odd look. "You ain't a player, are ya?"

I shook my head, not knowing exactly what to say. I looked around - maybe he was talking to someone else?

"You're awful young to be a reaper… Even if ya were, I dunno if I would erase ya. Even if I could at least. Aw hell, I dunno if you're even looking at me." He looked back behind him just as I had, before turning back to me with an odd look. "So, what're you exactly?"

"Y-You said a bad word. Uh, sir." I managed. I really wasn't accustomed to talking to strangers. Particularly those who spoke so brashly. I suppose I lived a rather sheltered life, but Mother and Father kept me away from people like this guy - they said people like this were a bad influence, dangerous.

"Wha'? Oh… Surry 'bout that. Really I am, but seriously man, what are you? I thought people in the RG couldn't see the UG." He crouched down on one knee so he didn't tower over me quite so much. I guess he realized that he was a bit intimidating.

I shook my head, a little nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Huh." He rocked back on his heels, thinking a bit, and then glanced back towards where his partner used to be. "She'da known." He murmured quietly. "Yukari knew loads about the game. Fuc- err… Stupid noise killed her, 'n they'll be commin' for me too soon. If my seven minutes ain't up by then."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I repeated, taking a step back. I wondered for a minute if he_ wasn't_ actually one of my 'hallucinations' but rather a real person. A very creepy real person. He noticed my fear, and sat down shrugging. "Sorry kid, I don't mean to scare ya. I just dunno what to do."

I wanted to ask him things about his world - the one where people vanished into thin air and the animals sprouted out of floating symbols, but before I could open my mouth to ask, he too disappeared - like the TV channel he was on suddenly lost connection.

I knew I'd never see those two again. _Killed_ he'd said. Those two had just died._ Right in front of me._ I stood there staring like an idiot into the now-empty space for a full minute before racing home.


	3. Possession

**Authors note:** I suck at transitions as always, but here's the (slightly belated) second chapter. I'd meant to get it up last night, but as I was reading through it, I kept noticing things that were worded funny. I wound up spending the hour trying to fix it rather than posting it OTL

Anyhoo, enjoy~

* * *

"School is fine, mom, thanks."

"That's great sweetie!"

"I got an A on my math test."

"Keep up the good work! Have you made any friends yet?"

"Uh, yeah sure, tons of them."

"Wonderful, darling."

* * *

Mother caught me throwing out my pills yesterday. She didn't yell at me - she never does. Father is the shouter. Mother just gave me this disappointed look (which was almost worse) and sent me to my room while she called the doctor's office trying to figure out if anything bad would happen because I didn't take them. She seemed to think I would die of food poisoning or something.

She came in later on to talk to me, asking me why I wouldn't take them. I told her they made me sick. She asked me how long I haven't been taking them.

"Only for the first few months"

"Have you seen the monsters since then?"She didn't seem mad, just worried, but I couldn't stand how those pills made me feel. She couldn't put me back on them.

"No." I lied. "Not a sign of the animals."

She ruffled my hair, smiling slightly. "Well, you've still been doing well in school, and your father hasn't seen you act funny, so I suppose if you think you're okay... I'll talk to him about it and we can make appointments with the psychologist to make sure…" She trailed off, not really knowing what to say next.

I nodded, not trusting myself to say more. I wanted to tell her everything - about the pair that had disappeared the other day, about the creepy floating symbols, about the mysterious music I sometimes listened to when I locked myself away in my room - but I couldn't, not when she would just make me take that stuff again. I watched her walk out of the room, my vision blurring as tears came.

* * *

When I was younger, I remember Mother calling it my "overactive imagination" and for a long time, I accepted that as being true. I assumed all kids were like me, off in their fantasy world. The people when they vanished were simply part of the act. They would of course, turn up for someone else like a giant game of peek-a-boo. I knew better now, of course. Every time someone disappeared I had to quell the urge to cry.

I didn't talk about it so much then because it seemed normal. I made the mistake once, of asking if my dad could see them too, hovering over the man sulking on the street corner.

"See what?" He'd snapped back. He'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. Not that it was much different than usual, but still not a good time to bother him.

"The symbols, floating round that man's head. What are they anyway?"

Father got angry with me then, and I learned not to talk about it so much. He still caught me staring sometimes and whenever he did, I got in trouble. I blew it when I'd tried to convince him about the girl. Apparently that was the last straw for him and his ideas of perfect normalcy.

I had to watch myself even more after I was supposedly on the medication. A single slipup could set Father into a rage. I learned to stay out of the house more often as the less they saw of me, the less I had to worry getting caught between the other world and this one.

* * *

I hid out in my room whenever I wasn't feeling up to roaming the streets of Shibuya. The silence of a Thursday evening spent like this shattered when Father burst in through the front door, shouting something about his car. I heard Mother's softer voice trying to mollify him, "It's okay, I got a raise at work last month, remember? We'll be able to pay installments on a new car with the help of insurance."

"NO WE WON'T!" Father roared. I heard a crash that sounded rather like a dining room chair getting thrown to the floor. "The insurance company screwed me over. I called them about it and they said that this wasn't something they covered, and the incompetent IDIOTS at work think I haven't been doing such a good job, even when I pulled their asses out of more than a few situations! Something about paperwork getting filed incorrectly, but I KNOW DAMN WELL that I put that shit back in the right place."

"Honey, honey… Please, just calm down. We'll figure something out and you know it. We just have to-" Even muffled by the door, I could hear the note of panic in her voice.

"SHUT _UP_, WOMAN!"

I tried to shut out the sounds of their argument. I knew they fought occasionally, but this was definitely the worst yet. I couldn't even tell exactly what set Father off, whether it was the wreck - which if he'd made it home alright I couldn't imagine being much worse than a simple fender-bender - or because he thought he was on the verge of getting fired. Why he was taking it out on Mother though, I couldn't tell.

Still, there was no peace to be had in my room. I suddenly felt motivated to make my way to the park, as far out of earshot of the argument as I knew how to get. Unfortunately, the only way out of our apartment was past my parents.

I grabbed my bag from the hook on my wall. Nothing of particular importance was in there, just my cell phone and some books, because I didn't know how long I'd be out. I assumed (hoped, really) Mother would call me back home when the fight was over.

I crept slowly down the hall, trying my hardest to avoid the creaky parts. The noise of their argument would have covered up any sound I made anyway, but sneaking still felt safer. They were in the kitchen, so I at least had a chance of making it to the door before they saw me. Taking a deep breath, I darted from the shelter of the wall towards the door, grabbing the handle as silence fell again. Well, almost silence anyway. It sounded as though Mother had left the TV on the wrong channel when Father had burst through the door.

I looked slowly back towards the kitchen. They both stared at me. Mother seemed apologetic and flustered. Father, in contrast, was still angry though confusion laced his expression. My eyes, however, were drawn above his head to where those strange symbols floated. Instead of the usual red ones, these were a deep yellowish-gold color. The static, whirring noise, I now realized, came from _them_, whatever they were.

Without a word, I fled the building. I think my parents were too stunned by my terrified expression to react fast enough to catch me. My cell phone rang before I reached the bottom floor, but I just kept running. Faster, faster… I had to get away from the fight, from the ithings/i that seemed now to follow me everywhere.

Crazy or not, why were they invading my house now? I mean, sure I hadn't taken the medication in over a year, but Mother thought I was over it - like it was some sort of prank from the very beginning, and Father didn't care one way or another so long as I wasn't talking crazy.

Chest hurting, I slowed down to catch my breath and figure out my surroundings. Oddly enough, I found myself exactly where I had been planning to go before Father saw me. Before I'd seen those ithings/i in my house.

Miyashita Park.

My mind drifted back to the things hovering around Father and I felt suddenly very sick to my stomach. I leaned on the wall to steady myself. Despite this, I doubled over dry-heaving, glad despite the pain that I had forgone dinner. My father might disappear, just like those people nobody else could see. Would he turn like them first? Invisible to everyone but me, racing for his life through Shibuya… As vindicating as that might seem, he's still my dad. I don't want to see him gone…

When the nausea passed, I pulled my phone out. Mother had called four times since I left and even as I held the phone, it rang a fifth time. I stared at it mutely, not really wanting to answer. I hit ignore and opened the voicemail.

"Joshua please come back!" Mother pleaded, her voice tinny over the phone's speakers. "We stopped fighting and we didn't mean to scare you. Your father was just in a bad mood. He had a bad day. Please Joshua…"

"Yoshiya Kiryu!" I almost clicked the phone shut as my father's voice rang out, far louder than Mother's had, "Get home before you give your mother a heart attack!"

"Joshy, please just come home. We won't yell anymore. Father has gone to bed. Just answer the phone."

"Honey… I really don't want to send the police out after you. Just come home before nightfall, okay? We're worried." Joshua listened as the message didn't seem to be quite finished though his mother fell quiet. "I love you. We both do and I'm sorry about what happened." *click*

Even as I hit end, a message flashed up to let me know I had a new voice mail. Silencing my phone, I kept walking towards Cat Street at the other end of the park. The sky already turned a pinky red - there was no way I'd get home before dark, and the last thing I wanted to deal with was more shouting. What I'd do until then wasn't clear yet, but going home was not an option.

Near darkness fell eerily fast, despite the street lights and constant glow of the city. I crossed my arms more against the uncertainty than the cold, and kept walking. _No going back now._

The Jupiter of the Monkey store probably closed down hours ago. I debated breaking in and sleeping in the corner. No… I'd only do that as a last resort. I'd rather sleep under a bridge in the park than get arrested. Looking around, I noticed a table and chairs set up byr a tree. Maybe I could crash there?

A movement in the trees caught my attention and I jumped slightly. Just the wind of course, but… Was it just me or was the light playing in the tree casting rather _skull like shadows_ - no. No. Just no. This was simply my imagination getting away from me. _Like always…_

I took a breath to steady myself and looked around again, pointedly ignoring the creepy-as-hell tree. The café the chairs were by seemed open, or at least a light shone from inside. Nobody seemed to be interested in going in, not that there were many around at this time of night. I glanced up at the sign, wondering what the name of the establishment was - I wasn't even sure if it was a café. I only assumed so because it smelled like brewing coffee.

Instead of a name on the sign up top, I could make out some sort of shiny, white… Was it a face? I cocked my head to one side. Maybe it was some abstract pouring milk-thing?

"Hey kid."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I had been too busy trying to work out the picture and hadn't noticed the man inside until the door opened, inviting me in.

"Woah there, tiger. I don't bite."

"Hello, sir." I said, a little nervously, looking him over. The man seemed nice enough at least. He wore a white shirt and a vest, dark pants, sunglasses. He was old (well, older than me at least) but not quite as old as my parents. On top of that, the man just _oozed_ coolness.

"I can offer you a cuppa joe if you'd like. 'M not too crowded now, and it'll only set ya back 520 yen." He motioned for me to come in and I obliged.

"That would be nice. Yeah, I'll take the coffee." I fished in my bag for my wallet and handed over the money. "What's this place called anyway?"

"WildKat. Pretty hip, huh?" He handed me the coffee. "Here ya go, fresh from the pot."

I could tell he wasn't asking my opinion, just trying to pull some conversation out of me. Still, I wasn't wanting to talk all that much. I nodded and sipped at the drink, not wanting to burn myself.

"So what brings a kid like you out of doors at this hour of the night?" He asked, trying again to start up a conversation.

Not really wanting to anger the man, I answered as honestly as I could without sounding insane. "My parents were fighting. I had to get out for a bit."

"Do they know where you are?"

I shook my head in reply, sipping the coffee again as an excuse not to answer verbally.

"You should call them before they send the cops out. I don't wanna be accused of kidnapping." He threw his head back and laughed. The sharp, barking sound made me flinch, but he didn't seem to notice. "Let your parents know where you are, and if they can't come and get you, you can crash on one of the booth chairs.

I nodded this time, thinking it best to listen, and pulled out my phone. I didn't even have to dial the number - Mother was the last one to call. The phone had barely rung once when Mother's urgent voice answered, "Joshua? Oh honey where are you? Are you okay? Why didn't you call?"

The man had retreated to put another pot of coffee on to boil, something I was thankful for. "Mom, it's alright. I'm fine… I'm at a place called WildKat. It's on Cat Street."

"Alright. I'm coming to pick you up… But really, are you okay? Why did you run out like- oh well I know why you ran out. I'm coming, just hold on a few minutes."

"Alright, Mother. See you soon." I closed the phone and pocketed it again.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" The coffee man asked. I just shrugged again and took a seat near the windows. The coffee seemed to help me think clearer. Maybe it was just having something warm in my stomach, but I felt like I could actually think over the events of what happened.

Those symbols, they made the animals, and I'd seen those people fight the animals and make them disappear. Maybe I could ask one of them to kill the ones on Father? I took another sip of the coffee, thinking about how to go about getting their attention. I didn't even know why those people did what they did, just that they were there, running around invisible to everyone but myself.

My mother found me lost in thought when she reached the coffee shop. She hugged me tightly to her, unable to properly scold me through her worried tears and her profuse apologies to the coffee man. We left for home shortly after Mother bought another 'cuppa joe' in thanks.

As I walked out the door, I glanced back to see him giving me an odd look I had the strangest feeling that he could read my mind…

* * *

The next day, Friday, I slogged through my schoolwork, just waiting for school to get out. I wasn't sure if this was one of those 'off weeks' where the invisible people didn't show up, and I really hoped for once that they would be around today. I had an idea of how to get them to do as I said, but I would have to find them first.

Wait, were those wings? I'd seen them out of the corner of my eye and I jerked around for a double take. Sure enough, standing at the entrance to Center Street, there was a winged person in a red hoodie. The face was in shadow, so I couldn't tell if they were a guy or girl, but I still cautiously approached the person.

He looked at me - I could tell it was a 'he' now - his eyes narrowing at my pointed gaze. "You a player?"

"No sir." I replied shortly. "You have wings - do you know about the symbols?"

The man started, "You can see them? What are you?" Remembering the first time I'd spoken with one of these 'hallucinations,' the question echoed oddly.

"I need you to do something for me.

"Okay kid, go buy me some of that ramen from the place on Dogenzaka. It's not too far away from here, but I can't leave my post. I'll think about hearing you out if you do that."

Nodding, I turned on my heel and started off towards Dogenzaka and he called after me, "Hey! Get me the pork one!" I pretended not to hear as I slipped into the Scramble.

I returned with the Tonkotsu ramen faster than the man must have expected, because he jumped when I appeared. "I have the ramen, now hear me out."

"Gimme the food and I'll listen while I eat it." He shot back. I wondered why it was so important to him to have the upper hand, but his defiance rubbed me the wrong way. I would have given him the ramen, but instead I chose to dangle it before him. I was rewarded by his stomach rumbling in protest.

"No." I said belligerently, "I want the symbols-"

"They're called Noise." He interrupted. "We call them Noise in the UG. You want all the noise erased so you don't have fight anymore? Ha! Good luck with that. There'll always be Noise." This guy was really starting to get on my nerves.

"No. I want the 'Noise' on Father 'erased.'" I replied coldly. I think something in my tone surprised the older man, because he stopped mocking me.

"I can't just go and erase noise. I'd like to help, you do seem kinda… Well I'm sorry, but I can't. I have a job to do, and it goes against protocol to help the Players, or whatever you are, out like that."

"Then tell the ones without wings to do it. Are they the players? Tell them it's part of the game, or whatever it is they're playing."

He looked at me strangely, then nodded. "I dunno what all you know, but if you can bring your dad here and stall 'till a player shows up, I can say they have to do that before they can get past the wall."

I handed the ramen over, nodded shortly, and left. I felt his gaze on my back until I was out of sight. I'd used up the last of my allowance on that ramen and I hoped it was worth it…

Line break

"Dad, can we go get…" I hesitated. What stores were around Center Street? "Music? There's a new album out that I really want."

"Go get it yourself." he growled back, sinking further into the reclining TV chair. "You hang out in the city all the time on your own. You have allowance."

"C'mon dad!" I insisted, hoping the unusually casual tone in my voice would bring him around. "I want to spend some time with you while you're home." I noticed that Mother was watching me from the kitchen, obviously wondering what I was trying to do.

"Oh go on, Honey! Spend time with your poor son." She encouraged.

"He's just trying to make up for scampering out on us last night." The ugly expression on Father's face, coupled with the odd, inharmonious sound of the symb- no, _Noise_,almost sent me back out the door.

Still, I didn't want Father to be erased, and I thought maybe the Noise were eating him somehow, making him angry. It wasn't his fault.

"Don't gang up on me!" he snapped He gave in and stood up though, heading to grab his keys off the mantle.

No! We couldn't drive… "Let's walk, Dad. It'll be more bonding that way." This earned me strange looks from both mom and dad, but Father shrugged and met me at the door, slipping his shoes on. We made our way fairly quickly to the Center Street entrance where the winged man stood sentry. I'm not sure if he recognized me or simply saw the Noise, but I could see his eyes widening as I approached.

Slowing my pace down considerably, I attempted to stall, hoping that someone would come along and talk to the man in red.

"Miki! Stay with me! It's gotta be around here somewhere."

"We've erased a ton of noise, and this timer is still ticking! I don't think you have a clue at all. Come on, let's try a different area!"

I turned to listen - were those people some of the 'players'? They had to be, talking about erasing noise and all that. Whoever they were, they knew about the noise. I watched the pair as they tried to run past the man in red. The first one ricocheted off an invisible wall, slamming into her partner. "Ack!" they cried, landing hard on the concrete. No one around them so much as flinched, and I knew for sure that they had to be part of whatever 'game' that they were players in.

"_Joshua!_" I blinked and looked away from the scene just now to see my father up by the man in red. Jogging, I managed to close the distance fast enough that Father looked only a little displeased. "What's wrong with you lately? You're so distracted."

I was distracted all right. The noise surrounding Father hissed and hummed louder than ever outside. It almost seemed to be feeding of the drifting red ones.

The two players hopped up and started talking fast to each other and the man in red. He motioned towards Father, and they turned to him, taking some sort of attack pose.

I swallowed, stalling again, and hoping that the noise would be erased soon and not Father. I made sure not to look straight at the players, because Father looked angry again, and if he found out that I still saw these things… "I thought I saw a coin on the ground. Turns out it was just a bolt for the drain. No big deal."

One of the players had faded almost out of sight, while the other appeared almost darker than usual. I'd seen this before in passing, but never thought much of it. The two moved almost in sync, but both seemed hard to see almost…

"You know, I do think this walk is doing me good. Thanks for dragging your old man along." Father smiled at me, and I couldn't help but grin back. The symbols around him vanished and so had his bad mood, so we continued on to the record store. I could hear snatches of the excited conversation behind me as we left.

"Wall clear!"

"Good we can move on!

"Huh? Oh wait, looky here! The timer's gone!"

"Woah, sweet! I guess that was the mission for today then!"

"See! I was right all along! Mleehhh"

* * *

The miracle cure to Father's mood didn't last all that long. He returned to his usual moody self only a few days later. At least it wasn't angry-moody now. Still, the upbeat attitude had been nice while it 'd even bought me ice-cream on the way home!

Still, I lapsed back into staying away from home when possible. Apparently whatever work issue had worked itself out, so at least he didn't wind up fired. .


	4. CAT

This chapter and the next few have been huge pains in the bum… Mostly I'm having issues with the order. I keep adding stuff into the middle to aid in character development so that it doesn't happen in just a few sentences. This stuff is kinda fun though. So sue me 3

I do think my 'schedule' will change to Mondays only instead of Mondays and Fridays. I'm more likely to be able to keep up with it~

Also: rwarrr I can't strike out text for here... Sad dayyy

**

* * *

**

* * *

Despite the father-son bonding time, I still stayed out of the house on most days. The Game interested me more than home or school life. School was especially awkward the Friday after the principal's son, Tanaka Watanabe, died in an accident. Everyone seemed to know him but me, and after his death, word spread like wildfire around the school. Reactions to the morbid news varied from shed tears to asking if they would be let out for the rest of the week.

I mostly felt ill. Death happened so easily in this world as well as the other. It seemed inescapable, as though it were looming constantly over me. Here I was worrying about myself rather than feeling bad for someone else. Something must be wrong with me, but then again, I didn't know this guy, so why should I feel horrible. Then I think again about how he's dead, and why people die, and the cycle of thoughts continues, spiraling downwards, sticking in my throat and throwing my stomach into turmoil.

Too much noise of both types, natural and not, surrounded me at school. I escaped the flood of students as soon as the day was over. In times like these, I find it safer wandering around in the backstreets, enjoying the quiet, gentle melody that hummed throughout the city. I often wondered if this sound was part of the Game, and only I could hear it, or if it was just something that people usually tuned out.

Either way, I followed along the streets, down dozens of lonely back alleys I'd never seen. Soon enough, I realized that the music grew stronger as I went. Curiously I continued on, wondering if this was just my imagination or not. The smell of spray-paint hit me and I wrinkled my nose. Maybe this wasn't the music of Shibuya after all, and just some vandal and his beat box.

The hissing sound of an aerosol can grew louder as I followed my nose more than anything now, and as I turned the last corner, a can clattered to the ground, and something flew away, sounding like a flock of pigeons. After the fluttering died down, the music returned stronger than ever despite there being not a speaker in sight.

I glanced up at the wall that was supposedly being vandalized, and stepped back. Graffiti it was, but vandalism? I'd call it artwork. Nobody was in the area, and all that they left was the spray can.

Something about the style rang a bell. Where had I seen art like this before? _CAT_. I blinked as the word popped into my mind. But of course! It was CAT, the famous graphic designer's work. His work was all over Shibuya. I never paid a lot of attention to the art before, but it had to be him.

What would he be doing drawing on street walls though? Why, too, was the music louder here than anywhere else? Usually the music was merely a hum, barely discernable from the tumult of everyday Shibuya life. Even in the backstreets, it took on the role of a background melody, easily tuned out and ignored.

But now… Now the music seemed more substantial. I could almost _feel _it vibrating the air. Could this art be making the music stronger and clearer? Even unfinished, the design managed to match the wordless tune. If sounds could be pictures…

I decided I wanted to meet this CAT person. This person who may be able to create music with his spray paint intrigued me, and I had nothing better to do, so why not? And anyway, nobody else knew who he was. Most people weren't even sure if he was a 'he' at all. It would be like a mystery in those books I read as a kid. (I'm no longer a kid of course, being thirteen as of last month, even if people still call me one.)

So, how did the hero detective start out? He looked for clues of course. I picked up the spray paint can, wondering if I would be able to powder it for finger prints. But then again, even if I managed to get a finger print off of it, who's would I compare it to? I set the can back down with a small laugh. I'd have better luck drilling random people on the street.

No… CAT, creator of Gatito clothing brand. Gatito is Latin, meaning cat. Not all that creative of a name of course, but if _everything_ about this guy had to do with cats, maybe he lived with cats too? Or near cats?

Maybe he was a crazy cat lady…

No. Nobody this cool would be like that. Maybe the half finished artwork is a clue. I looked up at the design again. A cat, of course. A sort of crazy looking cat, but definitely a cat.

"Everything leads back to cats of course." I murmured to the wall.

The music thrummed along with my words. It almost seemed to be saying. "Well duh, Joshua."

I shook my head to clear it of the unwanted personification of the mysterious music. Paranoia, that was all. I turned away from the mural. Shibuya was too loud in the silence, and I almost longed for the sounds of people. Maybe this was why people tuned it all out in the end. I'd go back to the main roads, along familiar streets. Streets and cats…

I stopped in my tracks, almost wanting to smack my forehead with how iutterly stupid/i I was being. Instead, I smirked. I knew who CAT was.

**

* * *

**I showed up at WildKat within the next thirty minutes, and the owner, CAT, smiled crookedly as I ordered pancakes and a House Blend. I handed over the money, mulling over how to bring up the topic of artwork. Maybe I ought to have kept the spray can so I could return it now.

"Family doing good?" CAT had beaten me to the start of the conversation. Where had that come from anyway? I gave him an odd look and he clarified. "Last time you were in here you seemed pretty down 'n your mom came to fetch you. Did your dad get over his mood?"

"Things are better now." I replied slowly, trying to remember if I'd actually said anything about Father being in a mood. I didn't think it would be something I'd have spoken about. It happened a long time ago though, several months at the very least. The barista seemed satisfied with my answer and this left me wondering how he remembered a single customer from that long ago. "My turn for a question." I eventually said.

"I don't get a lot of customers around. Most of them that come around are at least twenty and them that aren't tend to be older teens. Let's just say you were memorable." He answered preemptively.

"Thanks, I was wondering that, but I actually just wanted to know what to call you." I hid a smirk behind the rim of the off-white coffee mug he'd given me, glad that he'd answered my unspoken question without any trouble. Some adults were easily led, and this man seemed to be another.

He looked surprised by the simple question. "Hanekoma. Sanae Hanekoma. What about you? Mind you I've never been good with names."

"Yoshiya Kiryu. You can call me Joshua though. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." I replied.

"Aight then, nice to meet too, J. Any reason you're back here today?"

I looked him over, wondering if I could have been wrong in his guess. Might as well be forward about it, as this man didn't seem too uptight about hiding things. Not yet at least. "Are you CAT?"

Instead of confirming or denying, he just laughed. It wasn't even a respectful, quiet, hid under the hand sort of laugh. No, this man threw his head back and belted it out before answering me. "You're the first to ask me that."

A scowl flickered across my expression. Maybe he wasn't as forthcoming as I'd thought, and that laugh irritated me. Still, the pieces fit. Ha_NEKO_ma owns a shop called WildKat on Cat Street? Then there was that weird shiny graffiti outside above the door. "The first, hmm? Seems a pretty simple deduction to make."

"CAT living on Cat Street. It's so obvious it's invisible, no? It actually makes a more perfect disguise than you may think. Most folk imagine I'd be living it large in some penthouse at the top of some fancy apartment building. Cat Street is a nobody district compared to what most have in mind." Hanekoma shrugged. "It makes it easier for me, and I've already got enough on my plate."

Enough on his plate? Really, who did he think he was kidding? Freelance artist and empty-café owner. really how much ieasier/i could it be… Unless of course, there was something else. Something connected to the things nobody else could see or hear. I looked him over carefully. He seemed fairly normal. Incredibly normal, even, minus the 'coolness' vibe he somehow managed to give off. Ugh, what was I even thinking? I jabbed at the food with my fork as I thought.

"The pancakes not appetizing?" Hanekoma's voice broke the melodious silence and I looked up, a little startled.

"No sir, just thinking."

"You think too much for someone your age. Ya gotta learn to enjoy the moment." The last words were ones that even I recognized and I smiled despite myself. CAT's work really had pervaded Shibuya.

Still, I found myself not following the well meaning advice. "I'm too old for someone my age anyway." The man let out another barking laugh at my words. Feeling slightly chastised, but not wanting to show as much, I shrugged as nonchalantly as possible. "Most kids my age are only worried about when they'll get together, or what the moment's popular celebrity is doing."

"And you're above such petty distractions." Hanekoma interjected. I would have agreed readily had he not seemed so disapproving.

The urge to defend myself rose within me like bile. I knew it was immature, but something about that annoyed tone to his voice made me need to dispel the man's misgivings. "Pointless, mass insanity over something as simple as a single person's clothing choice seems so… I don't see how things like that are important to life"

"So then what is life to you?"

This question actually stumped me. It's not as though I had never thought about it before either. Watching the game - the dead seemed to have things so much more interesting. They fought for something, pushing themselves just a bit harder every time to succeed. But that was death, not life. The living just floated along, drifting where the current may take them. Like in the scramble, everyone mindlessly rushed towards their bi-weekly salary just to put food on the table. Lather, rinse, repeat.

"Broaden your horizons." Hanekoma's voice interrupted my thoughts, snapping me back into the present. "You can't truly live if you stay trapped in your own little world."

This conversation hit way too close to home for comfort. I pushed the pancakes away from me, not hungry anymore. Besides, I don't like pancakes all that much. The older man seemed to sense the end to the conversation, and he took my plate and now empty coffee mug back to the counter.

"There's always a seat for you here, you know."

**

* * *

**Enjoy the moment… Broaden your horizons…

I sighed dramatically and fell back against my pillow. What was CAT trying to say anyway? Go on a world trip? Maybe to France, or America. Or Australia. I let my mind wander a bit, but quickly decided that this didn't give me very much enjoyment for the moment.

Why was I so frustrated about it all anyway? Self introspection is pointless, leading nowhere but in circles. I could just go back and ask of course, but something about how he gave that life lesson said the meaning was more the path than the destinations.

"Unnghh." I groaned in annoyance. This Hanekoma person seemed to think he was the next Buddha or something. Maybe I could return to the mural to see if the music was still there… Or even real. The music seemed to be connected with both the noise and this Game, if only by that nobody else heard it.

* * *

When Saturday morning finally came around, I threw my notebook and phone into my bag before grabbing some breakfast and leaving the apartment. Mother and Father thought I was off to hang out with my friends. These friends they thought I had were more imaginary than the other world of mine. This thought brought a rueful smirk to my expression as I rode the elevator to the ground floor.

But my social status aside, I had a mystery to solve. I needed to know what Hanekoma knew before I asked him. I had several theories, but none that could be firmly established without proper evidence. I'd noted them down last night as I awaited sleep to overtake me.

The notebook in my backpack held these ideas, and my starting place to prove them would be Udagawa where the mystery had first come to my attention. The first step to solving any mystery was to start at the beginning.

_Theory 1: CAT can see and hear the Game too  
__Likelihood: 5/10  
__Argument: His artwork in Udagawa seemed to resonate with the music. He mentioned being busier than it seems he ought to be. Would mean I'm not the only one.  
__Counter argument: No evidence that he can see the game, maybe the music is unconnected. Adults are just busy. Lonely much?  
__Proof required: Most or all other examples of his art must resonate the same way. Could investigate CAT, see if he demonstrates awareness of the other people_

_Theory 2: CAT just hears the music  
__Likelihood: 8/10  
__Argument: He painted on Udagawa because the music called to him. Maybe some people have more connection to this world than others.  
__Counter argument: Sounds melodramatic. Oh aren't I a special butterfly.  
__Proof required: Paintings and graffiti resonate, but printed and mass-produced works do not._

_Theory 3: CAT is a Kami of some sort who makes the music  
__Likelihood: 1/10  
__Argument: Udagawa mural resonates. Flapping noises heard in the alleyway. Mysterious behavior.  
__Counter argument: Music may not be connected with anything. Birds knocked over the spray can when they heard me coming. CAT is just a weird person.  
__Counter-counter argument: Nobody else hears the music. I heard the spray can was going right up until the birds flew away. He's too cool to be weird.  
__Counter-counter-counter: The music is just in my mind. The birds were spray painting? Maybe he's a serial killer. Lots of people say serial killers are pretty cool._

_Theory 4: I'm just crazy  
__Likelihood: __10 no __9/10  
__Argument: Well, just look at the track record.  
__Counter-argument: …  
__Proof__ required__: See above passages_

In any case, (except maybe number four) I'd have to make sure that the music was still there at Udagawa.

Sure enough, even as I neared the record store in the Udagawa district, the soft thrum of Shibuya grew just loud enough for it not to simply blend with the background noise anymore. The wall itself finally came into view, and even as I looked, the paint seemed to glisten in the sun and city light. So CAT had returned to finish his masterpiece.

I closed my eyes and listened closer to the sounds. So much more complex than I could follow, the music seemed to speak as well, the message not as much heard, as iknown/i.

**_"Enjoy the moment."_**

Opening my eyes again, I scowled. What did that phrase pop into my head for? The music seemed to be saying this, just as Hanekoma had. Hanekoma was CAT, and CAT seemed to be able to control this mysterious music, at least to an extent.

I backpedaled, not wanting to jump to conclusions. Hanekoma could simply hear the music as I can. He voices what he hears to any poor soul that would stop by his empty store. I supposed I would have to now prove that this music came from the artwork, and not some in-store speaker system.

The music came from no direction and all directions at once. As silly at that sounded, it was true. So speakers were most likely out. Next I had to make sure that nobody else could actually hear it. Getting the answer out of someone would be difficult, but if I led up to it somehow…

I walked past the boarded up store that looked like it had been set on fire at some point and never fixed. I think it may have once been a game store. The next closest store was a clothing shop. As I entered, the storekeeper looked me up and down with an incredulous look. "You don't look like you'd be a customer here, kid."

I'm sure he was right - I didn't look like anyone who would have ever set foot in this building. The man was big and beefy, with more facial hair than I had on my head. A black hat sat low on his forehead, maybe in an attempt to look cool while hiding a balding patch. He didn't seem older than thirty-five or so, but age had not done him a favor. The store itself definitely catered to the leather and metal wearing sub-culture. The voices on the radio in the corner shouted incoherently to wild guitar music. I, on the other hand, wore a button up white shirt and my school blazer. My hair was short and neat, my shoes expensive. No, nobody looking like me had ever even gave this place so much as a second glance before running off to the safety of crowded streets and their parents' wallets.

"I'm not a kid. I'm here for a school project, and seeing as you're the closest open store to the graffiti wall back there, I figure you'd be the best person to interview for the paper I have to write." Most of it was true. Only the school part was an outright lie, and the 'not a kid' part was debatable, but he didn't seem interested in objecting to that.

"A school project, hmm? On what, may I ask? How awful illegal art is? Or how the dregs of society ruin the beautiful city landscape by marring it with spray paint?" He sneered at me as he spoke, but I made sure not to react in a scared way, even if the cigarette smell on his breath made me want to gag.

"If I wanted that take on the story, I would have interviewed my parents, sir." I looked at him evenly as I spoke, wondering if I could unnerve him. People were generally easy to throw off their game. Adults especially, as they seemed to think that children were mindless and stupid.

"Hnn." he replied, not that it was much in the way of a response. Still, I think he was reassessing how to talk to me.

"Are you willing to help me with my project then?" I asked. "I only need to ask a few questions about various things."

"Aight kid, you seem honest enough. So go ahead." He shrugged as he answered. I guess I'd landed on the okay end of his scale.

"The graffiti out there on the wall, do you know who whose it is?" Better to start with the easy questions and make sure the man knew what he was talking about.

"You don't know? That's CAT's work, that is. He'll come out and repaint a new design every season or so when the old one fades too much. We'll get people coming out every now and again to see the new picture. CAT likes cats though. They usually feature in it."

"You sound like you really enjoy the work. Is it not technically vandalism?"

"Nah." he answered quickly. "Maybe legally, but nobody around here complains. It's not destructive or anything, if that's what you mean. The paint washes out on its own after a few rains."

"CAT is a pretty mysterious figure. Most people don't know what he looks like." I wouldn't tell him that I knew of course, but I wondered how much he knew. If he came around here as often as the storekeeper said, he might know something more. "Have you ever talked with him?"

"You a CAT fanboy then? I thought we were talking about graffiti here." He sounded defensive, as though somehow my question had put him on edge, though why this was, I couldn't begin to guess.

"Actually, my project is on CAT. His work has pervaded much of Shibuya, and he seems to be able to do almost anything. Clothes, advertisements, pins, even board designs by the look of it." I nodded at one of the boards hung up on the wall. A silver cat ran its length, the whiskers brushing the sides on one endwhile the tail curled around the edge of the other. Red and gold abstract shapes spattered over the rest of it. I plowed on though, after he'd glanced at it. "Despite this, nobody seems to know anything about him for sure. There are almost as many rumors about him as there are mediums that he works with. And now he apparently does graffiti in his spare time."

"Aight, aight. I get it. I didn't mean to make ya mad, kid. I'm just not used to prissy looking rich kids coming in here and getting all up in the business." He adjusted his hat and scratched at a spot of thinning hair at the rim. "In answer to your question, I don't know him. He's a guy who seems to like his space and I'm not one to nose in on people like that. I've never seen him working on the mural, but I've a business to run, and I can't be chasing down people who I've no beef with."

"I understand, sir. I'm not here to judge, just to learn." I put up a hand as if to concede. "About his artwork. I've heard people say it speaks to them." I remembered the message within the music. If other people heard the message too, maybe it had nothing to do with the Game.

"Well, speaks like any art does, if that's what you mean. Of freedom and all that. Do what you want, how you want, when you want. It's a pretty cool idea really. Not much of a CAT fan myself, but I can respect the guy."

"Fascinating…" I mused quietly. I still hadn't asked the question I'd come in for. After all, how does one work _that_ into a conversation. 'Hey, do you hear the music from the graffiti too?' I'd get kicked out for sure. I doubted he heard it though. The music (if one could call it that) from the radio wasn't loud enough to tune out the Shubuyan song outside, but seemed like it would be plenty loud had it been on its own. "Well," I continued, "You've been a wonderful help for my project. Thank you very much, sir."

"No problem, kid… Hope you get a good grade on that paper." He waved as I left the store, still thinking things over.

The music wasn't necessarily connected with the message or the artwork. I believed it was, but I would have to test this hypothesis before I reported back to my bedroom for the night.

**

* * *

**

* * *

WHOOO fun chapter… To write anyway. I like mysteries~ My favorite stories when I was little were the Encyclopedia Brown books. Anyway, it was also a rather exhausting chapter, seeing as it took me so long to figure out the order of it all. Also, I left my DS at my grandma's house ;-; so direct game references are out of the question unless I can 'borrow' my brother's copy of the game or I use the bits and pieces I've already typed out.

Somehow though, stealing from a sick kid doesn't seem right.

Anyhoo, I really apologize for being late… I actually had a full chapter ready to upload and everything on Friday, but then I went and had second (and third and fourth) thoughts about how it flowed and how it fits with what I have typed out already (since it was pretty much an add on in the first place) so then I changed it completely. What I had written will show up though.

P.S. Plotting stories is FUN… It's like a puzzle that you create yourself, and you can fit things in wherever you want. /sillyness

P.P.S. On the theories thing, some of it was supposed to be struck out. The counter-counter argument, as well as the counter-counter-counter bit were all crossed out, as was the 10 in the 10 9/10. In the proof required: on the last bit, the required part was crossed out. *siiigh* It's funnier that way, I think.

Long authors note is long OTL


	5. The Game

I kicked off my shoes at the door to our apartment. Mother had something cooking in the kitchen and she glanced up when I approached. "Josh! You're back late." She was right too- another few minutes and it would have been past nightfall.

"Sorry, mother. My friends had nothing scheduled today, so we just hung out the whole time." I replied casually.

"That's great, honey. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes or so." She smiled and turned back to cooking. I was glad she didn't feel the need to press the issue.

Not feeling the need to respond, I sidled off to my room, to write down what I found out from today. After speaking with the shopkeeper, I'd explored Shibuya to hunt down more of CAT's artwork. Anything from posters to t-shirts, video to graffiti. Nothing drew the music out like the mural, but as far as I could tell, they did resonate a little. At the very least, they seemed to all echo CAT's "enjoy the moment" sentiment.

At this point, I didn't even care if it had to do with the players and the noise. I flipped to the page with the theories on them, tore the page out, and dropped it on the bed. I wouldn't need anything but notes now. The way I figured it, CAT could control the message. Whether consciously or not, he sent his words out to all of Shibuya.

By the time Mother called me for dinner, I'd filled up half a page from all I'd learned about the players and noise. The amount was disappointingly small, but it would have to do for now. I would also need to organize them on the computer later, but on paper, I could carry them around and they would be ready for tomorrow's trip to Wildkat. I would confront Hanekoma about what he knew of the music. Subtly, of course. I'd have to figure out how to work it into the conversation.

**

* * *

**

WildKat's windows were dark as I approached. At first I found myself rather annoyed. Here I was about to get to the bottom of something interesting - one of the few things that idid/i interest me anymore, and here was an incredibly inconvenient roadblock towards my destination. Maybe someone in one of the other shops knew why the place was closed down?

"Yo, yo, yo! Lemme know what yo, gonna be lookin fo'" I tried not to cringe at the rap that greeted me upon entering the sports store, Urban Images.

This sort of place wasn't where I usually did my shopping as I'm not a huge Jupiter of the Monkey fan, but it was the closest to WildKat, so I figured I'd try here first. "Do you know why the café is closed today?"

"Ah, the WildKat. That place is pretty phat. The owner, well he scat, Gone to who knows where at."

The rap was a stretch at best. Did the shopkeeper really have to rhyme all the time? "Thank you sir. Does he do this often?"

The boy behind the counter shrugged. "That cool cat, knows where it's at. He'll take weeks off, at us workers he'll scoff?" Even the boy behind the register cringed at that one. "'Aight, 'aight. That one was bad. Just don't tell my boss or he'll be mad."

I nodded slowly, wondering at how Hanekoma could keep the café open if he wasn't even in for days at a time. "Thank you, sir." Well, if that was all the storekeeper knew, I could be on my way…

"There's some pretty funny rumors 'round that place." The boy said, stopping me on my way out the door.

"No more rhyming I see?" I asked as way of response, turning back to see what he had to say.

"It's annoying you, I can tell. And anyway, you might buy something if I get you to stick around longer." He laughed, but went on pretty quickly. "But people say the place is haunted or something. Sometimes there'll be people in there without anyone actually going in or out. I've heard a hundred different versions of the story, but the owner himself seems like a cool dude, whether or not he's around all the time."

"Ah, thanks…" I glanced at his nametag, "Mister Okada." What he said certainly gave me something to think about. Grabbing one of the pins from the display on the counter, I asked, "How much for this?" I figured I ought to thank him somehow for giving me the info.

He beamed and answered swiftly, "3500 yen!"

I handed over the money, and stuck the pin in my pocket before leaving the store. That pin was expensive for just a pin, but the information was worth it - Hanekoma was out, and he'd be out for a few days, if Okada knew what he was talking about. I checked Wildkat once more, and even knocked in the hopes that he might answer, but when nobody came to the door and the lights didn't flicker on, I turned towards home.

I didn't really want to go back, but I'd had enough of wandering Shibuya yesterday and the day before to last me a lifetime. I'd told Mother that I was hanging out with friends again today, so I'd have to find something to do…

"Someone! Forge a pact with me!" a boy shouted. I jumped and looked around, but nobody else seemed to have noticed. "Are there any Players left!"

Or maybe, something would find me! I searched for the source of the shouting, but there were too many people and too much noise (of the natural type) to pinpoint his location immediately. Finally, he managed to break through the crowd. The boy looked about fifteen, dressed in a sporty, yet trendy outfit, and had longish, wispy hair. I barely had time to locate the skull pin on his tank-top sleeve - confirming that he was, in fact, a Player - before the symbols hovering dangerously near him spat out the animals.

I wasn't sure I wanted to stick around for him to get erased. I stood up, preparing to leave before the butchery began.

"Pact?" A new voice rang out from somewhere in the opposite direction. "Are you a Player?" This second voice belonged to a girl. From what I could tell, she had bleach-blonde hair and wore the retro clothes of the Hip Snake brand. She wore the pin on what looked like a shoe lace around her neck.

They raced to each other and met not more than ten feet in front of me. If movie of their life was a romance instead of a horror, the two would be long-lost lovers. A blinding flash of light later, and the two fought together to fend off the animals.

When the only noise left was the babble of civilians, the pair finally relaxed, panting hard and looking a little worse for wear. The girl caught her breath first, and introduced herself with an air of flippant confidence. "So, my name's Takayuki Koboyashi. You?"

"Tanaka Watanabe at your service! It's nice to meet you." the boy replied with a dramatic bow. The girl laughed at his display, but I was too caught up in what the boy had said.

His name was Watanabe? He was dead though, right? How was he standing there in front of me, smiling and laughing if his body was in the morgue? This boy in front of me was even the right age… I walked up to them slowly, waiting for them to notice me first.

"Aren't you dead?" I asked. They jumped a little, surprised that I approached and addressed them, instead of walking on past as they had assumed I would.

Watanabe's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Wait, you see me? Are you a Player too? Or a reaper - you don't have a Player pin!"

"Tanaka … He's just a kid." Koboyashi admonished before turning her attention to me and saying, "Hey, how do you know we're dead, and why are you able to see us?"

"So you _are_ dead then?" I asked. "Watanabe, you went to my school."

"You did? I don't think I know you. Are you sure you're not a reaper?" He started to sound a little suspicious.

"Don't you two have a mission today?" I reminded them, not liking these questions I didn't know the answer to.

"Oh SNAP! We gotta get to Ten-Four!" Watanabe cried, grabbing the girl's wrist and half yanking her towards Scramble Crossing in his sudden panic. Koboyashi waved back at me before scrambling to get her feet back under her and race with him to their mission destination.

…

So the invisible people were actually dead all along? All those people from before… All of them were dead? It made sense in a way, even if two peoples' answers didn't hold true for everybody else. Nobody else could see them and they left no body behind when they were erased.

The next day after school, I wound up by Hachiko, wondering if the two would show up. This place was as good as any to wait and better than most - the Scramble was far too crowded so I wouldn't be able to tell the players from those still alive. I also wouldn't get blamed for loitering, as other kids hung out her all the time.

Despite waiting every day after school until dark, I didn't see a hint of the Game until Thursday when the two sprinted by in the direction of the bus station. Wondering what they could be up to, I chased after them.

A huge shadow flashed across the pavement in front of me and I froze. I seemed to be the only one who noticed though, so I knew it must have been from something from the other world.

"There it is!" the girl shouted. I followed her pointing finger to a bird the size of a small plane zipping across the sky. "How do we get it down here?"

I watched the beast circle back around, and as it eclipsed the sun, I could see the tell-tale tattoo like body parts signifying it was another noise. It was huge though! Definitely the biggest of these creatures I'd seen by far.

A handful of smaller birds zipped down at the Players. The girl, Koboyashi, faded to white, while Watanabe darkened. They seemed to make quick work of the smaller birds, going so far as to laugh as the last one disappeared, but when a car fell out of the sky and just missed them, they sobered up pretty quickly.

"Yuki, are you still in one piece?" Watanabe asked worriedly.

"Yep. Worry about yourself. You're the clumsy one."

As if to prove Yuki's point, the bird swooped down from the sky, sending Watanabe flying into the Moyai statue. I flinched, knowing that had that happened to a normal person, they'd have broken their back and probably most of the rest of their bones too. Luckily for him, whatever held together these ghosts was stronger stuff.

"Tanaka you idiot!" the girl cried out. "I felt that too you know!"

"I'm fine!" He shouted back, pushing himself off the statue and out of the way just in time to avoid a lashing beak, while at the same time launching some sort of counter attack. He slammed into the underside of the giant bird Noise and it crashed into the ground.

I'm still not totally sure how he fought, but whatever he did next set the bird on fire. Another flock of the smaller noise descended on the pair and Takayuki set upon them, wielding what looked suspiciously like a paintbrush and palette. She hit each bird in turn, darting from one to another. When she landed on the other side of the birds, a streak of lightening followed her path, devouring the Noise as it went.

A screeching sound split the air, sending both Players sprawling. The giant bird noise flapped its great wings and shot up into the air again. "Get back here!" Watanabe shouted after it, though it did him no good as another flock decided that moment would be a nice time to harass him. "Dude! Not cool!" he yelped, ducking the barrage.

"I got him!" Takayuki shouted, leaping up impossibly high and slashing at the soaring bird with the brush. The bird screeched again as the brush sent out sparks where it touched. She took this opportunity to land nimbly on the back of her enemy. "Let's paint you a new future, hmmm?" She stood up like the bird was a surfboard and splattered gobs of paint around the beast. The paint congealed into stones that latched onto the wings and back of the noise.

Before it could shake off the boulders and regain its flight, it slammed into the ground. The resulting crash rattled windows and shook the nearby trees. None of the pedestrians seemed to take notice at all. Takayuki used the bird's momentary daze to leap away from the wreckage and onto the safety of a nearby bus stop shelter. She turned to see the earthen tomb melt away into the paint used to create it.

The bird swept its wings open again, sending the liquefying paint splattering across the arena. I threw up my hands to stop it from getting in my eyes, but it passed right through me. After all, it _was_ from the ghost world.

Watanabe appeared just above the monster and shot down at it like a human cannonball. He leapt back out of the way of a huge tattoo-like claw, and then sent a stream of flames racing towards the creature.

The noise flapped its wings and shot straight up into the air. Yet another flock of smaller noise descended and took over harassing Watanabe. I watched as he fended them off. There were more than before though, and for each one he vanquished, another took its place.

A shriek of terror turned my attention back to Takayuki. A vendor cart had smashed into the support beams of the bus shelter, sending one side of it crashing to the ground. I blinked as my vision went hazy, trying to make out the difference between the bus shelter from my world, and the one from hers. The pedestrians took no notice as the ceiling above them fell onto their heads.

The girl slid down the roof and tumbled to the concrete below. She rolled out of the way as the bird aimed a peck in her direction. Scrambling from the claws that followed, she hid under the partly collapsed shelter.

Watanabe finished off the last of the noise pestering him, and upon seeing the giant noise, vanished from sight. For a moment, I thought he'd been erased, but the bird screeched in pain or surprise as he rematerialized above it only to come crashing down into its back. A bolt of lightning flickered along its length, and with another downward jab from Watanabe, it flashed out of existence, leaving only a haze of static.

Watanabe looked around once, and then twice with a bit more fervor when he didn't find what he was looking for. "Yuki? Takayuki?"

"Under here! Wait a second, this was destroyed!" Yuki said, standing up in the newly fixed bus shelter.

Watanabe laughed as he replied, "I guess what happens in the noise plane stays in the noise plane. It's good to see you're okay though. I nearly had a heart attack when I didn't see you." He put his hand to his chest to illustrate.

"I flew back there, you know. I flew that demon spawn before making it crash. I _flew_ Tanaka. Can you believe that?" She threw her arms out to the side as though she were the bird. "It was awesome."

"Excuse me?" I interrupted. "Could you two tell me what that thing was?" As neat as watching the battle was, I needed answers, not more questions.

"Oh hey!" Takayuki said, sounding mildly surprised, though still speaking only to her partner. "It's that kid who saw us day one. You think he's talking to us?"

"Woah, kid…" Watanabe stepped away from me, not sure what to think. "What are you doing back around?"

I nodded in the direction of where the bird had been moments ago. "Watching you guys fight. Fantastic job by the way. That was a pretty awesome trick with the paint, if I do say so myself." I beamed up at Takayuki. A bit of sucking up can't hurt, particularly when I want information.

A smile brightened on the girl's face at my complement. "Thanks!"

I indicated the place where the bird had vanished. "That noise you two fought. It was bigger than most."

"Sure was! That was the mission for today. I'm not totally sure what we had to fight it for. There's still a couple more days left. Isn't the boss battle supposed to be at the end of a game?"

Watanabe snorted, "Most games you get lives and save points. Oh and you don't _actually_ die when you die." He shot me a look and asked the familliar question. "You never answered us last time. What are you?"

"I'm just a kid with schizophrenia. You guys are my hallucinations." I replied, feigning innocence.

Takayuki shook her head quickly. "Nope. We're as real as you, just in the UG instead of-"

"Son?" Someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Are you okay?" I turned to see an elderly man looking at me with a concerned expression on. "You're talking to the post there, and I thought I heard you say something about hallucinations."

_Whoops…_ My expression betrayed my surprise for a moment as I looked for some sort of excuse. "Hee hee!" I giggled obnoxiously as I crossed one arm, bringing the other hand up to conceal a smirk. "Tricked you, didn't I?"

He scowled and shook his head, returning to waiting for a bus. "Disrespectful little…"

"So you _are_ in the RG… Maybe we ought to go somewhere else." Watanabe offered. "That thing over there seems pretty vacant." He indicated the Moyai statue across the street.

We made our way over to the quieter area. Takayuki pulled out a book and flipped through it along the way. When we reached the Moyai, she showed me a page in the book. The top half was dominated by a picture of the noise they just fought while the lower half had numbers and bits of info. "It's called Buteo Cantor. It's some sort of hawk- thing." She said, indicating the name. "The noise show up in this book after we beat them."

She shut the book and stuffed into her backpack. "So… I know I'm not a hallucination of yours. I couldn't think about that if I was, so why can you see us? You're in the RG otherwise the man couldn't have seen you. You don't act like a reaper…"

"I can see ghosts." I replied with a shrug. "Always have. By the way, I'm Joshua Kiryu. I don't think we've been properly introduced." For the most part I knew their names, but introductions seemed in order as they didn't know me.

"I'm Tanaka Watanabe. You already knew that though." The boy said politely. He still seemed wary of me, but not to the point of being rude.

The girl introduced herself next. "Takayuki Koboyashi's my name, but you can call me Yuki. It's nice to meet you, Kiryu. Or… can I call you Joshua?"

"Sure thing, Yuki. It's only fair after all." I glanced over at Tanaka, wondering if he would offer the same, but even as he opened his mouth to reply, he collapsed, crumpling in a heap without a sound.

"Oh!" Yuki yelped when she saw him. "Hachiko! Meet us-" She stopped mid sentence as she joined her partner in unconsciousness.

Were they dead? Or rather, dead again? They didn't erupt into static like usual, so they weren't erased. I tried to shake the girl awake, but my hand went right through her shoulder. Oh, right. They were in the UG, whatever that meant. I'd wanted answers, but now I just had more questions.

A humming sound caught my attention and I looked up to find a green noise symbol hovering over the unconscious players. I'd never seen a green one before, so I hadn't the faintest idea of what they meant. If red killed people and yellow made them unhappy, were the green ones neutral? Or, more importantly, did I want to stick around to find out?

I strangled the yelp that threatened to burst from me when a small, bright pink pig popped out of the green noise. It landed on the ground next to the two Players and nosed them over onto their stomachs. Then it grabbed Tanaka around the middle with its tattoo-like feet. With a huge leap, it yanked the player up to the symbol. After doing the same with Yuki, the pig bounced back into the green thing, and zipped away with the two players in haul.

The whole thing happened so fast that I found myself wondering what exactly had happened. They weren't erased, but the pig Noise _had_ just carried them away. What did that mean anyway? Were they dead or not dead?

_Hachiko._ Yuki's last few words came back to me as I worked on settling my mind. She hadn't seemed worried about her partner fainting. She just wanted to get her message across, as though she knew the same would happen to her. Okay then, if they aren't at Hachiko the next day, they were probably erased. I'd wait there a couple days just to make sure, and if they didn't show, then I'd move on…

I'd also have to find a different way to learn about the game. The sudden disappearance of this player pair scared me more than I want to admit. I shoved my hands in my pocket to stop them shaking and tried to pretend that my heart was only beating so loud because I was excited for tomorrow.

With that, I left for home.

**

* * *

**

* * *

Gah… This chapter wound up longer than I wanted it to. Also fail on sticking to the schedual. Life caught up with me, and I got my art muse back. Also yay schoolwork…

As for the pig noise… Just a thought, but what's their point? They seem to be simply prize-bags in the game. Maybe they yoink pins off the slumbering players when they transport them to the new local or something? It also would explain how the players get from one place to another. (Though the real explanation is probably just teleportation. Boooring!)

The Noise have to feed on something though, and with only one exception, the pigs don't seem very harmful. Maybe these ones earn points like the Wall Reapers do (or are simply summoned to move the characters to where ever the Reapers want them.) Barring teleportation, I can't see the Reapers lugging players around Shibuya, however amusing it would be to watch them wake up in random places. (in a dumpster, or hanging from a lightpost, for example.)

I figure it doesn't change this story much either way; poofing players would be just as scary to someone who would see a vanishing act as being deader than dead, so why not throw it in? /random thoughts

On a final note, the names are from a random selection of (what I assumed were) first and last names from the credits. I figured I'd try to avoid naming them cliché Japanese names, even though Takayuki wound up getting shortened to Yuki. I figure it's better than patrolling a baby names site for fifty different variations on Moon-Flower though, so I'll take what I can get. :)


End file.
